Jul 26, 2014

Behnisch's Brobdingnabian Boozy Birthday Bonanza

Saori's office, Behnisch, turned 25 years old this year, and to celebrate, they brought all three of their offices, amounting to over 200 people, here to Stuttgart to celebrate. The folks from the Munich office didn't have much of a trek- they hopped on a train and were here in two hours. Behnisch also took the trouble to fly over the entire Boston office for the weekend as well, and to put them up in hotels here in town.

For the party, they appropriated the wide alley in front of their office with a custom plywood steps as benches and tables. They created three shallow kiosks, really just plywood facades to serve as a stand, which were themed to the three cities- Boston, Stuttgart, and Munich. The Boston stand, which was painted with city landmarks, the stars and stripes, made me oddly nostalgic for that city. I think it was also in part to the big blue Red Sox baseball cap decal, which was identical to the one I wore three years ago in my internship in that city. The stand served mini-burgers and Sam Adams Boston Lager (where the hell did they did up several cases of that???). The german cities served up the local brews and local foods- Stuttgart with its Maultaschen (thick, baked and sliced raviolis) and Fleishsalat (think potato salad, but with chopped ham and baloney standing in for potatoes).

They strung lines up and covered the lines with plastic to keep Stuttgarts notorious weather at bay and filled the canopy with white paper lanterns. The big conference room on the ground floor was converted into a bar and dance floor with a stage, silver foil streamers covering the walls, and mood lighting. They also hired two bands, both of which had members who worked at Behnisch.

There was beer by the keg and case, crates of wine, platters of meat and sausage, and to top it all off, a giant cake in the form of the latest big Behnisch project.

My office had a dinner, painfully coincidentally on the same night. However, it was just a "lets get to know each other better and socialize a bit" kind of thing basically organized by the two lead architects. The principal wasn't there- as an old friend and coworker of Mr. Behnisch, he went to the big Behnisch blowout.

Our office dinner was at "Lucky Hans" upscale burgers. I got a pretty decent chicken burger actually, since their beef burgers are not all that great. It was fun though, even though we had to cover the meal ourselves, and afterwards, I quickly excused myself to go join the big party.

The party was in full swing when I arrived a little after nine, and I ended up staying until around 2 o clock in the morning before heading back home. After a few people comment that you look like you're falling asleep, it's probably time to take the hint.

Magnum, the ice cream manufacturers, also rolled up a full deli case full of ice cream bars and cups- across the world, if you notice, they are also celebrating 25 years this year with special champagne flavored treats.

It was a rough morning, but I whipped up some fried eggs and bacon on top of german toast and with some strong coffee and copious quantities of water, I was able to cut through the worst of the gastro-cerebellar discomfort.

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